Over the past decade, states including South Dakota, Maine and Vermont have lured new residents with financial incentives in areas that need a boost. Rural areas across the country have been losing residents as people move to areas where there’s more economic opportunity and more to do, Woolf said. The Wyoming effort is based in part on the Dakota Roots program in South Dakota started in 2006 to help natives move back by helping them find jobs. South Dakota has since expanded the assistance to anyone who wants to relocate there, helping about 4,800 people and their families so far. Matt Christie, who grew up in a rural area, said he was ready to get out of his Boston suburb when he applied to the Vermont program.

Source: thestar June 12, 2019 12:11 UTC